Ukraine accuses Russia weaponizing energy resources - The head of Ukraine’s kingdom-controlled electricity enterprise Naftogaz is asking on Washington and Berlin to take decisive action in opposition to Russia, accusing the country of the usage of its herbal fuel as a geopolitical weapon.

The announcement comes amid a developing energy disaster in Europe ahead of the winter season, and soon after the United States and the International Energy Agency urged Russia to pump extra gas to the location to ease the deepening deliver crunch.

Benchmark European gas charges have soared by means of extra than 250% since the start of the yr, whilst benchmark power contracts in France and Germany have doubled.

Ukraine accuses Russia weaponizing energy resources

“This is a very clean signal that they are the use of gas as a geopolitical weapon in the mean time,” Naftogaz CEO Yuriy Vitrenko advised CNBC, accusing Russian power main Gazprom of intentionally withholding fuel substances from Europe.

The former electricity minister also accused Gazprom of blocking get admission to to the Ukrainian gasoline transmission system for different Russian groups, in addition to cutting exports from Central Asia that would visit Ukraine through Russian territory.

Vitrenko expressed hope that the US will reinstate sanctions against Nord Stream 2 AG, Gazprom’s Swiss-registered subsidiary, which is operating on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Ukraine accuses Russia weaponizing energy resources

Meanwhile, Germany’s Energy Ministry stated that Russia is completely compliant with its fuel deliver obligations to Europe, stressing that there’s no want for the state to interfere inside the state of affairs with fuel charges.

“According to our information, Russia is pleasing the existing supply agreements… We do now not realize approximately the planned brush aside of the present contracts,” the ministry’s spokeswoman Suzanne Ungrad said in advance this week.

Gazprom previously announced it became equipped to supply Europe with natural fuel through the lately completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline. However, deliveries can not start before the venture is certified by the EU regulators. The tactics should reportedly final into subsequent 12 months.

Ukraine accuses Russia weaponizing energy resources

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Russia’s GDP increase anticipated to reach 4.2% this 12 months

The Russian authorities expects the U . S .’s economic system to develop through four.2% this year, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin introduced at a meeting on Tuesday.

“The restoration of the Russian financial system after a as a substitute difficult duration is turning into an increasing number of solid. By the give up of this yr, we anticipate GDP growth at four.2%. This indicates that anti-disaster measures have proved their effectiveness,” Mishustin said.

Earlier, Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development posted its personal forecast, stating the identical determine for Russia’s GDP in 2021 and predicting a further 3% boom in 2022. According to the pinnacle of the department, Maxim Reshetnikov, with the slow withdrawal from the OPEC + oil output deal set for 2022, the u . S . A .’s oil enterprise can be restored to pre-pandemic degree and make contributions to GDP increase.

Meanwhile, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also progressed its outlook for Russia’s GDP boom in 2022 to three.4%, that is 0.6% better than its May estimates.

In its September report published on Tuesday, the OECD mentioned that Russia, in addition to Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey, saw “surprising increases in inflation” that “will retain for some time.” However, it also stated that “tightening financial situations in many of those nations must although assist scale down domestic price pressures, specially by way of the second one half of 2022.”